Why in news? India’s ranking in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index has slipped to 161 out of 180 countries, according to the latest report released by global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Highlights:   

• Pakistan has fared better when it comes to media freedom as it was placed at 150, an improvement from last year’s 157 rank. In 2022, India was ranked at 150.
• Sri Lanka also made significant improvement on the index, ranking 135 this year as against 146 in 2022
• The Nordic trio of Norway, Ireland and Denmark continued to occupy the top three positions in press freedom, while Vietnam, China and North Korea constituted the bottom three.

About Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

• Reporters Without Borders (RSF) comes out with a global ranking of press freedom every year.
• RSF is an international NGO whose self-proclaimed aim is to defend and promote media freedom.
• Headquartered in Paris, it has consultative status with the United Nations.

World press freedom index:

• The objective of the World Press Freedom Index, which it releases every year, “is to compare the level of press freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories” in the previous calendar year.
• The RSF defines press freedom as “the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.”